With the widespread lack of knowledge on the reality of Islam, Muslims in the West often find themselves alienated and discriminated against.
But, really, what are Muslims like? Just normal people going through life's ebbs and flows. A recent German video highlights that perfectly.
Deutsche Bahn (DB), a German railway company, recently shared a video titled "Tolerance Time". It depicts a scenario about a Muslim hijab-wearing young woman who changes a German train passenger's prejudiced views on Muslims, especially those who wear the hijab.
The clip, which was released on March 14, already has more than one million views and almost ten thousand shares on Facebook at the time of writing.
"Every day, we take 7.3 million people from A to B. It would be better if we not only cover distances, but also overcome prejudice," the company writes.
DB's skit takes place on a moving high-speed train, where the hijab-wearing woman catches another passenger's attention. The man, who is studying for an anatomy exam, starts wondering about the woman's hijab.
In his head, he asks questions like, "Why is she wearing the hijab? Does she really want to? Did her family force her to wear it... or her husband? Isn't she too young for that?"
He also asks himself what she is reading, and directly assumes that it is the the Quran.
After deciding to stop distracting himself and focus on studying, he whispers to himself, "Where is the supraoptic nucleus located?"
To his surprise, the woman answers his question, saying that she had learned about it in the previous semester. She then shows him that she is actually reading a book about anatomy.
Towards the end of the clip, the duo is seen sitting side by side on the train as the woman explains anatomy to him.
According to Huffington Post Arabi, "Tolerance Time" is the first part of an upcoming series in which DB will share stories related to current social issues. Under the "Connecting Humans" slogan, the company hopes to promote values such as tolerance and honoring guests.
The clip was met with conflicting responses, and naturally, Islamophobia made an appearance in the comments. But, the company made sure to delete all offensive comments.
Germany is no stranger to anti-Muslim sentiment, having witnessed a rise in Islamophobic crimes since the arrival of some 890,000 asylum seekers in 2015. 91 mosques were attacked in the country last year, according to The New Arab.
The video's release coincides with the day the European Union's top court announced that employers can ban the hijab at the workplace.
According to a recent survey, 55 percent of people polled in ten European countries are in favor of banning further migration from Muslim countries, signifying widespread intolerance against Muslims.